Wand toys are a type of toy that may tend to encourage a child to exercise their imaginative and creative abilities. “Magic Mirror” wand toys are based on the archetypical magic mirror of the film “Snow White”. In the insecurity inherent in the transient allure of beauty, the evil Queen is consumed by vanity. She cannot bear the thought that there may be one more fair than she. What greater symbol of her obsession than a mirror? But hers is a magic mirror that answers her queries. In her insecurity, she is driven always to ask “Who is the fairest one of all?” The image of her counsellor magically appears in the mirror, to answer her. The looking glass permits her to see far away. Thus is she inevitably shown the image of Snow White. This timeless story reaches out to the very essence of a child's imagination.
The concept of a far seeing “magic mirror” may thusly be entrancing to a child. A handheld mirror that permits one to see not only a reflection of oneself, but also of a fictional character, such as Snow White, Cinderella, or the character Belle of Beauty & the Beast, may be an attractive toy. Consequently, a number of attempts have been made to develop a wand toy that may tend to simulate a number of the properties of a magic mirror.
A common feature of several of these attempts is a wand body in the shape of a hand held mirror, with a handle at one end and a widened display face at the other. The display face includes a partially reflective and partially transparent member in which the user may view their own reflection, or, indeed, the reflection of other objects depending on the angle at which the reflective surface is held relative to the viewer seemingly as if by magic.
A further common feature of a number of earlier attempts is an illuminated image, or images, of some character or another. The image may be created by the placement of a transparency behind the partially reflective surface. A light source is mounted within the wand body behind the image. When the light source is dark, or blocked, the image is either not visible, or only very dimly visible through the partially reflective surface. However, when the light source is lit up, the image is illuminated, and the intensity of the image projected through the partially reflective member is such that the image is then visible to the viewer.
It is known also to provide an audible signal source, such as a recording of singing or dialogue, to be played when the image is illuminated. In past examples of “magic mirror” wand toy, there have been multiple images, and associated multiple light sources, each light source being associated with a particular image. It is also known to provide sequencing of the illumination of various images, and the messages played when those images are visible, to provide the suggestion of a conversation between characters.
It is further known to provide a tape recording of a set of messages. A first actuation of the wand results in the illumination of one or more images with an accompanying message, or messages. A subsequent actuation causes another message to be emitted, and so on. The roster of messages is limited, and may be provides on a fixed rotation, or may be random. The child has no control over which message is played, other than knowing which message comes “next” when the messages are presented in a fixed rotation. That is, the child cannot, typically, alter the order in which messages are presented, or choose one image rather than another.
In the magic mirror type of wand toy, when the position of the images is fixed, it tends not to be possible to project more than one image at a given location. It may be desirable to be able to manipulate the images to permit different images to be seen at the same location, perhaps with the possible effect of furthering the wonderment of the user.
The present inventor proposed that images be moved to a projection location. In creating the illusion of an image appearing at one location, followed by another image at the same location, the present inventor has addressed the timing and sequencing of movement, illumination, and sound co-ordination as described hereinbelow.